Guide for curved masonry walls



Feb. 9, 1960 R. B. PROETT ETAL GUIDE FOR CURVED MASONRYv WALLS FilldJan. 26, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet Feb. 9, 1960 R. B. PRoETT E-r AL 2,924,021

GUIDE FOR CURVED MASONRY WALLS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 26, 1959@wx/w, mx, /wmv @Vwuuh Feb. 9, 1960 R. a. PROETT ETAL.

GUIDE FOR cuRvEn MAsoNRY wALLs 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 26, 1959@aand pfeef United States GUIDE' FOR CURVED MASONRY WALLS Rolandv B.Proett, Donald A. Wakefield, and Robert W. Lyons, Denver, Colo.,assignors to Structural Clay Products Research Foundation ApplicationJanuary 26, 1959, Serial No. 789,086

8 Claims. (Cl. 53-174) This invention relates to apparatus for use bymasons in laying brick or other building units in courses to formavertical wall curved along its length. u

The primary object of the invention is to provlde a novel guidemechanism or template indicating to the mason not only the properlocations of horizontal edges of the brick for accurate horizontalalinement, but also, the proper locations of front faces of the brick toachleve with accuracy the desired curvature of the wall.

Another object is to construct a guide of the above character in a novelmanner to provide a. curved guiding edge of substantial length whileinsuring that all parts of the edge are disposed in the same horizontalplane.

A more detailed object is to provide a novel adjusting member whichco-operates with the template to raise and lower adjacent sections ofthe curved edge and thereby compensate for sagging of the templatebetween widely spaced supporting members.

Other objects and advantages or" the invention will become apparent fromthe following detailed description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a masons curved wall guideembodying the novel features of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a modified guide construction similar to thatof Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the guide of Fig. 2`

Fig. 4 is an end elevational View looking to the left from theright-hand portion of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of another modifiedguide construction;

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic plan view of the modification of Fig. 5;

Figs. 7 and 8 are schematic views similar to Fig. 4 and showingL theparts in different positions.

In Figs. 1 to 4 of the drawings, the invention is shown for purposes ofillustration embodied in a guide or ternplate 10 for use in layingbrick11 to form awall 12 having` aconvex exterior contour. Generally, theguide comprises any elongated at sheet 13 having one longitudinal edge14 complementary in shape to the desired exterior contour of the wall,the guide edge thus being concave in this instance. Opposite endsurfaces of the sheet are supported in the desired horizontal plane ofthe top surfaces of the next course of brick to be laid. Such support isprovided in this instance by vertical poles 15 and guide-line holders 16secured to the poles and having upwardly facing horizontal supportingsurfaces 17. The guide-line holders herein are of the type disclosed inUnited States Patent Number 2,715,777 and each including an arm with twoangularly disposed sections providing'the upwardly facing horizontalsurface and terminating -at one end in guide notches or recesses 18which receive a 4guide line spaced a short distance below the horizontalsurface.

Supportingl theaat guide sheet 113 at' opposite'ends on 2,924,221Patented Feb. Si?,y 19S@ the guide-line holders 16 are pairs of bars 19and 2li spaced apart transversely of the guide edge 14. Each bar hereinis of L-shaped cross section and, at its opposite ends respectively issecured to the sheet and rests on the adjacent horizontal guide linesurface 17, slots 21 being formed in the bars to receive a lug 22projecting upwardly from the guide line surface. The inner ends of thebars are secured adjustably to the sheet and, for this purpose, areformed with holes 23 spaced apart along the bars and receiving fasteningdevices in the form of bolts 24 extending through apertures 25 in theguide sheet. Wing nuts 26 are threaded on the bolts to facilitate manualadjustment of the positionsof the bars relative to the sheet. To locatethe end portions of the guide edge in the horizontal plane of lines inthe line guide notches 18, spacers 27 encircling the bolts areinterposed between the supporting bars and the sheet (Figs. 3 and 4). Aline 28 attached in a hole 29 (Fig. l) adjacent each end of the guideedge extends along the bottom of the sheet, and through the guide notch18 (Fig. l) and is placed under tension to assist in holding the sheeton the guide-line holder.

With the guide sheet 13 supported at opposite ends as described above,the intermediate portion of the sheet tends to sag so that allof theguide edge 14 does not lie in a horizontal plane. This tendency isovercome partially by a box-like stilfening structure 30 extending alongand secured to the edge of the guide sheet opposite the guide edge.While they may be formed separately from and attached to the sheet, itis preferred, in order to simplify the construction, to form thestiffening parts integrally with ther sheet by suitable bendingoperations. The stiffening structure thus comprises a vertical side 31bent up from the sheet, a horizontal side 32 paralleling the sheet, anda Vertical edge portion 33 bent down from the horizontal side.

It is desirablevto extend the guide sheet 13 over a substantial distanceand thereby increase the amount of bricky laid before changing theposition of the guide. With such length, the guide edge 14 tends to sagin the middle even when the stiifening box 3i) is added and the partsare made of a light material such as aluminum. in accordance with theinvention, novel means is provided to overcome this tendency completelyand insure that all of the guide edge lies in the horizontal plane ofits end portions. Generally, this means comprises a leveling bar 34 ofright angular cross section extending along the guide edge and securedadjustably to the edge at spaced points. In response to shifting ofdifferent longitudinal sections of the leveling bar toward and away fromthe guide edge, adjacent sections of the edge adjacent the shifting barsections are shifted vertically and into the same horizontal plane asthe rest of the guide edge.

The vertical adjustment of different sections of the guide edge 14 byshifting the leveling bar 34 toward and away from the edge is due to apeculiar characteristic of bars of right angular cross section. Thus,when a length of such a bar between two fixed parts is bent laterally, atorsional force is created in the bar to bend one of its edges. To takeadvantage of this characteristic, one leg 35 of the bar is disposedhorizontally adjacent and is lsecured tothe guide sheet 13 and the otherleg 36 projects vertically therefrom. Also, the fastening elementssecuring the bar and the sheet at spaced points permits relativeadjustment between the two at each point whilethe bar and the sheetremain secured at the other points.

ln the present instance, the fastening elements securing the horizontalleg 35 of the leveling bar 34 to' the guide sheet 13 are the bolts 24for the end support bars 19 and similar bolts 37` extendingV throughapertures in the bar and alined apertures 3S in the sheet. Foradjustment of the bartransversely of the guide edgeA 14,

the apertures 25 and 38 in the sheet are elongated transversely of theedge to form parallel slots, the bolts 37 also having wing nuts 39thereon. In the forms shown in Figs. 1 to 4, 7 and 8, the horizontalleveling bar legv 35 lies fiat against the top of the guide sheet. Inthe modified form of Figs. 5 and 6, an auxiliary guide sheet 4t? isinterposed between the latter and the leveling bar. Where, as shown inFig. 1, the radius of curvature of the guide edge 13 is relativelysmall, the leveling bar may be curved along its length to followgenerally the curva ture of the edge. For larger radii of curvature, theleveling bar may be straight as shown in Figs, 2 and 5.

The auxiliary guide sheet 40 enables a guide mechanism designed for onecurvature to be utilized for walls of other curvatures, such othercurvatures conforming to the guide edge 41 of the auxiliary sheetprojecting beyond the edge 14 of the original sheet 13. As shown inFigs. 5 and 6, the auxiliary edge 4l is convex, the auxiliary sheethaving slots (not shown) in registry with the slots 3S of the mainsheet.

In using the improved guide mechanism, let it be assumed that the cornerpoles 15 have been secured in vertical positions spaced apart slightlyfarther than the length of the guide sheet 13 and that the line holders16 have been secured to the poles wtih the notches or recesses 18 at thedesired height of the guide edge. With the end supporting bars 19 and 20and the leveling bar 34 bolted to the sheet, these parts so assembledare shifted to locate the outer end portions of the supporting bars onthe horizontal line'holder surfaces 17 with the lugs 22 on the lineholders in the slots 21 on the rear supporting bars. The lines 2S thenare secured in the holes 29 in the guide sheet and are drawn tautbeneath the sheet and in the recesses 1S in the holders. The guidemechanism now is ready for leveling of the guide edge 14.

To determine whether the guide edge is level, another line (not shown)is extended through-and stretched between the line holder recesses 13and the alignment of the edge with this line is checked. Should anysections of the edge sag beneath or project above the line, this sectionis raised or lowered by shifting the adjacent section of the levelingbar transversely of the edge While the remaining sections remain fixedrelative to the edge, the adjacent wing nut 39 being loosened to permitsuch shifting. In the case of a concave guide edge such as the edge 14shown in Figs. l, 2, 5 and 7 and with the horizontal leg 3S of theleveling bar 34 extending inwardly away from the vertical leg 346 andtoward the stiifening box 3i), shifting of the unclamped sectioninwardly away from the guide edge to a position indicated in dashedlines in Fig. 7 results in raising of the guide edge as shown in dashedlines. To lower the section of the concave edge as indicated by dot-dashlines, the leveling bar is shifted toward a corresponding dot-dashposition in Fig. 7, the amounts of movement of the bar and the edgebeing exaggerated for purposes of illustration.

In the case of a convex guide edge as indicated at 41 in Figs. 5 and 6,the leveling bar is reversed but movements of sections of the levelingbar toward and away from the edge respectively result in lowering andraising of the edge the same as in the case of the concave edgedescribed above. The reversal of the leveling bar is shown in Fig. 8Where the edge 14 of sheet 13 is convex and the horizontal leg 35projects toward the guide edge from the leveling bar. Referring to Fig,8, the bar and the edge are shown in dot-dash and in dashed linesrespectively to illustrate the raised and lowered positions.

It will be apparent that the novel guide mechanism may beadjusted easilyto locate the curved guide edge 14 accurately in a horizontal plane eventhough the guide sheet 13 extends unsupported across a span ofsubstantial length. In one mechanism having a` guide sheet of 18 gaugealuminum twelve feet long, a leveling bar with the legs 35 and 36 eachone and one-half inches wide was found to be satisfactory formaintaining .the guide edge 4 in Va plane. With a sheet eight feet long,a leveling bar with legs three-fourths of an inch wide was found to besatisfactory.

We claim as our invention:

l. A curved masonry wall guide comprising, in cornbination, an elongatedtiat sheet having one edge following a desired curvature of a finishedwall and its opposite edge bent laterally to form a stiiening box-likestructure, supporting members providing at surfaces lying in a commonhorizontal piane disposed adjacent opposite ends of said sheet, pairs ofgenerally straight horizontal bars spaced transversely of said curvededge at opposite ends of said sheet and each having one end portionsecured adjustably to the sheet and the other end portion resting on theadjacent one of said hat surfaces so as to support opposite ends of thecurved edge in a common horizontal plane, said sheet having slots spacedalong and disposed adjacent said curved edge and elongated transverselyof the edge in parallelism, an adjusting bar of right angular crosssection extending along said curved edge and having one leg disposedvertically and its other leg extending horizontally adjacent said sheetand formed with holes in registry with said slots, fastening means insaid holes and apertures releasably securing said adjusting bar to thesheet while permitting adjustment of diierent sections of the bar towardand away from said curved edge to change the vertical position of theadjacent section of the edge and thereby dispose all sections of theedge in said plane of said end portions of said sheet, said supportingmembers having guide recesses to receive a line stretched horizontallybetween the members to provide a guide for determining visually when allsections of said edge lie in said plane, and parts on said supportingmembers and said bars interitting with each other to locate said sheetwith respect to the members.

2. A curved masonry wall guide comprising, in combination, an elongatedliat sheet having one edge following a desired curvature of a finishedwall and its opposite edge bent laterally to form a stifening box-likestructure, supporting members providing flat surfaces lying in a commonhorizontal plane and disposed adjacent opposite ends of said sheet,pairs of generally straight horizontal bars spaced transversely of saidcurved edge at opposite ends of said sheet and each having one endportion se cured adjustably to the sheet and the other end portionresting on the adjacent one of said flat surfaces so as to supportopposite ends of the curved edge in a common horizontal plane, saidsheet having slots spaced along and disposed adjacent said curved edgeand elongated transversely of the edge in parallelism, an adjusting harof right angular cross section extending along said curved edge andhaving one leg disposed vertically and its other leg extendinghorizontally adjacent said sheet and formed with holes in registry withsaid slots, and fastening means in said holes and apertures releasablysecuring said adjusting bar to the sheet while permitting adjustment ofdiierent sections of the bar toward and away from said curved edge tochange the vertical position of the adjacent section of the edge andthereby dispose all sections of the edge in said plane of said endportions of said sheet, and parts on said supporting members and on saidbars intertting with each other to position said sheet with respect tothe members.

3. A curved masonry wall guide comprising, in cornbination, an elongateddat sheet having one edge following a desired curvature of a inishedwall and its opposite edge bent laterally to form a stifening box-likestructure, supporting members providing flat surfaces lying in a commonhorizontal plane and disposed adjacent opposite ends of said sheet,pairs of generally straight horizontal bars spaced transversely of saidcurved edge at opposite ends of said sheet and each having one endportion secured adjustably to the sheet and the other end portionresting on the adjacent one of said iiat surfaces so as to supportopposite ends of the curved edge in .a common horizontal plane, saidsheet having slots spaced along and disposed adjacent said curved edgeand elongated transversely of the edge substanially in parallelism, anad justing bar of right angular cross section extending along saidcurved edge and having one leg disposed vertically and its other legextending horizontally adjacent said sheet and formed with holes inregistry with said slots, and fastening means in said holes andapertures releasably securing said adjusting bar to the sheet whilepermitting adjustment of diierent sections of the bar toward and awayfrom said curved edge to change the vertical position of the adjacentsection of the edge and thereby dispose all sections of the edge in saidplane of said end portions of said sheet.

4. A curved masonry wall guide comprising, in combination, an elongatedflat sheet having one edge following a desired curvature of a finishedwall, a box-like structure secured to the edge of said sheet oppositesaid curved edge and stiffening said sheet against sagging between itsends, pairs of generally straight horizontal bars spaced transversely ofsaid curved edge at opposite ends of said sheet and each having one endportion adapted to rest on horizontal surfaces so as to support oppositeends of the curved edge in a common horizontal plane, said sheet havingslots spaced along and disposed adjacent said curved edge and elongatedtransversely of the edge in substantially parallelism, an adjusting barof right angular cross section extending along said curved edge andhaving one leg disposed vertically and its other leg extendinghorizontally adjacent said sheet and formed with holes in registry withsaid slots, and fastening means in said holes and apertures releasablysecuring said adjusting bar to the sheet while permitting adjustment ofdifferent sections of the bar toward and away from said curved edge tochange the vertical position of the adjacent section of the edge andthereby dispose all sections of the edge in said plane of said endportions of said sheet.

5. A curved masonry wall guide comprising, in combination, an elongatediiat sheet having one edge following a desired curvature of a finishedwall, a box-like stiiening structure extending along and secured to theedge of said sheet opposite said curved edge to prevent sagging of thesheet intermediate its ends when the latter are supported in a commonhorizontal plane, said sheet having slots spaced along and disposedadjacent said curved edge and elongated transversely of the edge inapproximate parallelism, an adjusting bar of right angular cross sectionextending along said curved edge and having one leg disposed verticallyand its other leg extending horizontally adjacent said sheet and formedwith holes in registry with said slots, and fastening means in saidholes and apertures releasably securing said adjusting bar to the sheetwhile permitting adjustment of different sections of the bar toward andaway from said curved edge to change the vertical position of theadjacent section of the edge and thereby dispose all sections of theedge in said plane of said end portions of said sheet.

6. A guide for curved masonry Walls comprising in combination, anelongated hat sheet having opposite end portions supported in ahorizontal plane andy one longitudinal edge following a desiredcurvature of a inished wall, an adjusting bar of right angular crosssection extending along said curved edge and having one leg disposedvertically and a horizontal leg lying against said sheet, said sheet andsaid horizontal leg of said bar having pairs of registering apertures,and releasable means in said apertures securing said horizontal bar legand said sheets rigidly together, one of said apertures of each of saidpars being elongated transversely of said curved edge for adjustment ofsections of said bar toward and away from the edge to change thevertical position of the adjacent section of the edge and therebydispose all of the edge in said horizontal plane.

7. A guide for curved masonry walls comprising in combination, anelongated at main sheet having opposite end portions supported in ahorizontal plane, an auxiliary sheet lying against said main sheet andhaving one longitudinal edge following a desired curvature of a finishedwall and spaced beyond the adjacent edge of said main sheet, anadjusting bar of right angular cross section extending along said curvedyedge and having one leg disposed vertically and a horizontal leg lyingagainst the side of said auxiliary sheet opposite said main sheet, saidsheets and said horizontal leg of said bar having sets of registeringapertures, and releasable means in said apertures securing saidhorizontal bar leg and said sheets rigidly together, certain of saidapertures of each of said sets being elongated transversely of saidcurved edge for adjustment of sections of said bar toward and away fromthe edge to change the veritcal position of the adjacent section of theedge and thereby dispose all of the edge in said horizontal plane.

8. A guide for curved masonry walls comprising in combination, anelongated flat sheet having opposite end portions supported in ahorizontal plane and one longitudinal edge following a desired curvatureof a iinished wall, an adjusting bar of right angular cross sectionextending along said edge and having one leg disposed vertically and itsother leg extending horizontally adjacent said sheet, said sheet andsaid other leg of said bar having pairs of registering apertures, andreleasable means in said apertures securing said other bar leg and saidsheet rigidly together, one of said apertures of each of said pairsbeing elongated transversely of said edge for adjustment of sections ofsaid bar toward and away from the edge to change the vertical positionof the adjacent section of the edge and thereby dispose all of the edgein said horizontal plane.

No references cited.

